Australian cricket team must stop whingeing and pick tough youngsters

THE Aussies have hit rock bottom so now is the time to pick young players with plenty of character to transform the Test team into a tough unit, writes Ian Chappell.

Australian captain Steve Smith can’t bear to watch as the South Africans rip through the Australians in the second innings of the second Test in Hobart. Picture: Getty Images

YOU have to hit rock bottom before you can bounce back, but to produce a dramatic turnaround you have to first admit to the mistakes that caused the freefall.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland wasn’t making a full and frank admission when he stated: “The game of cricket is in good health.”

Financially I would agree but playing-wise, Australia’s recent poor form suggests otherwise. Not surprisingly, chairman of selectors Rod Marsh opted for honest appraisal when he resigned saying: “Clearly, it is time for some fresh thinking.”

Marsh is a proud man who has always had the best interests of Australian cricket at heart. Selecting is like captaincy — it’s subjective and there are plenty of people who think they can do it better. In the long run if you win often enough you keep your job as captain or selector and if the losses mount your position is in jeopardy.

A revamped selection panel is now in place with Trevor Hohns being upgraded to interim chairman — a role he previously performed on a full-time basis — and the national talent manager Greg Chappell, also co-opted on an interim basis.

Chappell was part of the Andrew Hilditch-led panel that was dumped after the 2011 Argus review. In his role as national talent co-ordinator he’s accumulated an extensive knowledge of the young cricketers in the system. This indicates the panel will take a more youthful approach for the final encounter with South Africa.

Supporting this theory, Chappell was also part of the selection panel that achieved a dramatic turnaround in Australia’s fortunes after a poor period in the mid-1980s.

This was achieved by introducing some extremely talented and tough characters. The difference between then and now is the manner in which the 80s talent was developed in what was a vibrant club and first-class system to the current production line, which is much diluted.

The ideal time to blood new players is into a team that, if it’s not actually flourishing, isn’t bereft of confidence. The selectors will be looking for skilful young players but equally those who have plenty of character. The hope being that their enthusiasm and energy can transform the feeling in the dressing room and the performance on the field. In times of adversity the dressing room needs an agitator or extrovert to lift the mood. More recently Merv Hughes and Glenn McGrath played that role perfectly and, in my time, it was Doug Walters.

Walters transformed a morgue-like dressing room at the MCG with his “I don’t know what all the fuss is about” comment a few minutes after the underarm delivery had been inflicted on New Zealand.

Australia have too many players worried about their spot in the team and consequently the effort is more individual- based. Another area where performance can be enhanced is with energetic fielding.

In Hobart, Australia were below average in fielding.

There’s also too much focus on what Australia’s opponents are up to. There have been complaints about England producing a couple of seaming pitches, India presenting them with wickets that favoured spinners and now South Africa using illegal methods to enhance swing bowling. It’s the officials’ job to police those matters and the team’s task to play good cricket.

Whingeing about opposition tactics can quickly become an excuse for losing.

An indication of the Australian cricket team’s mess is the decision to rush players into a Sheffield Shield round in the lead-up to the third Test against South Africa. Prior to this move players had been specifically rested from Shield duties before Tests. The best way to get ready for a Test, especially when you’re struggling, is to play cricket, whether at club or state level.

And the suggestion that this round of Shield cricket will be an indicator for selection is ludicrous. The best batsmen, bowlers and wicketkeeper in Australia shouldn’t be decided on one Shield performance.

Faf du Plessis hinted at the basis for some of Australia’s problems after wrapping up the series in Hobart when he said his team gained in confidence from whitewashing an understrength Australian side in the five-game ODI tournament prior to this tour. And Dale Steyn couldn’t have imagined the extent of the chaos South Africa would create when he talked about pre-series plans to “cut the head (captain Steve Smith) off the snake.” In times of chaos, constructive criticism can lead to a vast improvement in performance but only if you first admit what caused the chaos.

Originally published as Australian cricket team must stop whingeing and pick tough youngsters